Conventional electrochemical fuel cells convert fuel and oxidant into electrical energy and a reaction product. A typical fuel cell comprises a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) sandwiched between an anode flow field plate and a cathode flow field plate. The flow field plates typically include one or more channels extending over the surface of the plate adjacent to the MEA for delivery of fluid fuel or oxidant to the active surface of the MEA. The flow field plates also perform the function of providing an electrical contact to the MEA across the surface thereof. In a conventional fuel cell stack, a plurality of cells are stacked together, so that the anode flow field plate of one cell is adjacent to the cathode flow field plate of the next cell in the stack, and so on. In some arrangements, bipolar flow plates are used so that a single flow field plate has fluid flow channels in both sides of the plate. One side of the bipolar plate serves as an anode flow plate for a first cell and the other side of the flow plate serves as a cathode flow plate for the adjacent cell. Power can be extracted from the stack by electrical connections made to the first and last flow plate in the stack. A typical stack may comprise many tens or even hundreds of cells.
In many fuel cell stacks, it is important to be able monitor the voltage of individual cells in the stack. Thus, it is necessary to provide electrical connector tabs to many of the flow plates in the stack. These cell voltage monitoring tabs extend, in the planes of the plates, laterally outward from the stack thereby forming an array of tabs along an edge face of the stack, so that individual electrical connectors may be coupled to each tab.